From Reads to Leads is a newsletter for writers who want more. It's about marketing. Strategy. Positioning. Operations. Results. And yes, it talks about writing too. But through a marketing lens. If this was sent to you, subscribe here so you don't miss the next email.
In today's newsletter:
A few years ago, I took a course on project management in software development.
No, I wasn’t planning to switch careers and become a project manager. I simply wanted to know how I could apply project management skills to marketing.
Here’s what I realized: B2B companies often treat marketing as an ongoing activity. A routine.
For them, marketing is about the types of content and where to publish it.
Here is how this plays out:
- What’s the goal of this post? → We just need to keep posting regularly (= no specific objectives)
- What’s the deadline? → We’ll get it done whenever we can (= no urgency)
- Results? → Just wait. It takes time (= no results)
- Who is responsible? Everybody (= nobody)
- What are we producing next month? Let's pick some keywords (= random acts of content)
- What's the plan for the next quarter? → We'll figure it out as we go (= no roadmap)
- What's the budget? → Team salaries + SEO cost (= no accountability for marketing spend)
If you don't treat marketing as a project, things will always go off course.
iPhone launch
Spotify Wrapped
IKEA “Lamp”
They get it right by running marketing campaigns – projects with specific timeframes, scope, budgets, and outcomes.
Big B2B brands are catching on too.
For example, Notion recently launched an influencer campaign on LinkedIn where 50 influencers created personalized avatars in the Notion style and posted them on the same day.
This was a project. And it worked.
What if every marketing initiative were treated like a project?
Marketing requires new strategies, creative ideas, and testing. For this, you need projects, not routine operational tasks.
A project is a planned effort to create something new.
It has a goal, a start and end date, and specific tasks to complete along the way.
Unlike regular work that happens every day, a project is temporary and focused on achieving a specific outcome within a set time and budget.
Objectives: Just like any project, marketing projects should have specific goals.
Time: Marketing projects should have a start and end date, not run indefinitely (think blog posts with no endpoint).
Budget, team, and tools: Every marketing project has cost, requires the right people on the team, and tools to execute it.
Performance: Marketing efforts require monthly reviews to assess whether the project is on track and delivering results.
I love the OKR methodology because it makes it clear what objectives you want to achieve and what key results move you closer to achieving them.
Think of the key results as your key deliverables or outcomes within each objective.
Here is how you can plan a marketing project.
Objective: "Generate leads within the next 6 months."
Key result 1: Achieve top-3 Google Search results for the primary keywords in the next 6 months, tracking progress on the keyword positions monthly.
Action → Define an ICP
Action → Define a value proposition and key differentiation
Action → Create an offer
Action → Design a landing page showcasing the offer
Action → Optimize the landing page to rank for primary keywords
Action → Publish the landing page
Action → Build and execute a link-building strategy to secure top-3 ranking on Google Search
↓
Key result 2: Build credibility with site visitors
Action → Write 2 case studies and collect customer testimonials
Action → Design the case studies
Action → Publish the case studies
Action → Promote each case study on Linkedin to increase reach and visibility
↓
Key result 3: Capture leads
Action → Create a lead magnet
Action → Create a landing page that convinces visitors to leave their emails in exchange for the lead magnet
Action → Add CTAs to relevant pages to advertise the lead magnet
Action → Promote the lead magnet through Google Ads, LinkedIn, and retargeting campaigns, achieving growth in downloads within the next 3 months, progress tracked weekly.
↓
Key result 4: Nurture leads
Action → Write a drip email campaign for people who have left their emails to access the lead magnet
Action → Set up the drip email campaign using X email marketing tool
↓
Key result 5: Achieve top-30 Google Search ranking for secondary keywords in the next 6 months, tracking progress on the keyword positions monthly
Action → Write and publish X pieces of follow-up content within the next 6 months
Action → Optimize each piece to rank for secondary keywords
Action → Promote each piece on Linkedin to increase reach and visibility
For example:
- Assign the goal to achieve top-3 Google Search ranking for the primary and secondary keywords to your SEO expert
- Assign the goal to write a drip email campaign to your copywriter
- Assign the goal to write X pieces of follow-up content to your content writer
Assign team members to each task, set due dates, and you're ready to go!
Make sure you have a space to manage your marketing project. You can organize it in ClickUp or Notion.
Make sure each member of your team reports how they're moving towards key results every week.
Have a regular monthly call to review how you're making progress towards your objective.
At the end of the 6-month period, review the results. Did you achieve your key results and objective? What can be improved for the next cycle? Celebrate successes and learn from challenges.
Here is a simplified version of the marketing project above ↓
A conversation I had this week with the Head of Content at a company where I'm consulting on marketing operations:
Me: "Now, assign a goal to each piece of content."
Head of Content: "Um… well… that depends on the business goals. That’s not really my responsibility."
If you can’t define a goal, you’re not accountable for results. So why are you Head of Content?
Have a boss weekend.
Kate
P.S. If we aren't connected already, follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram. If you like this newsletter, please refer your friends.
P.P.S. Need a hand with content? Fix your mediocrity problem with Zmist & Copy
A powerful concluding sentence should reinforce your key message and keep your readers wanting more. Explore five types of endings for your blog posts.
Articles no one reads... Non-stop requests from ebooks to Instagram captions... Feeling a cog in the content machine... If you're thinking "Oh sh*t, that's me!" it's time to pivot into high-impact work. My newsletter will tell you how.
